Building-block.



'Nm 760,774. PATENTED MAY 24, 1904 BLAKESLB,

' BUILDING BLOCK., "APPLIUATION 11LBUDo.` 19. 1903.

No MODEL.

Patented May-124, 1904.

FRANK w. BLAKESLEE, oF .AsHTABULa oHidAssieNoR oF ONE-HALF TO GEORGE O.BJORNEBY, OF WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA;

BUILDING-BLOCK.'

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 760,774, datedrMay 24,1904.

" Appuaaon' ned December 19,1993. serai No.1sas91. (No model.)

To all whom, it nung/concerna Y `Be it known that I, FRANK W. BLAKESLEE,

la citizen of the United States, residing at Ashtabula, in the county ofAshtabula and State of Ohio, have invented a certain-new and usefulImprovement in Building-Blocks, of which the following is aspecification.

This ,invention relatesl to 'the art of manu-` facturingbuilding-blocks, and has for its object the exclusion of heat, cold,dampness,

` frost, and the like.

- companying drawings, and particularly pointed outin the appendedclaims, it being understood that lchanges in the .form, proportion,size, and minor details may be made-within thescope of the claimswithout departing from the spirit or sacrificing anyof theadvantages ofthe present invention.

In thedrawings, Figure l is ay detail perspective view of, a portion ofa wall construct: ed Aof the present form of blocks. Fig. 2 is aperspective view of a building-block embody: ing the features of thepresent invention. Fig. 3 is asimilar view of an end or corner block.Fig. iis a cross-sectionalview on the line 4 L of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is asimilar view on theline 5 5 of Fig. 3. Fig. V6 is a longitudinalsectional view on the line 6 6 ofTFig. 4. Fig. 7 is a similar view onthe line 7 7 of Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view'ofa modifiedform of block. Fig. 9 is adetail vertical sectional view takenlongitudinally through a portion of a wall constructed of the presentform of blocks. Fig.` 10 is a cross-sectional view thereof.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in each andevery ligure of the drawings. l n

As has been hereinbefore stated, the object of the present invention isaccomplished by means of dead-air spaces which are arranged so that oneor more of the spaces will intersectl any horizontal plane `passingthrough the block. The preferred arrangement of airspaces hasbeen shownin Figs. l, 3, and 5 of the drawings, wherein the numeral 1 indiminatesshort of thebottom, both grooves or openings extending throughout theentire 1 length of the block and intersecting the opposite ends thereof.It will also be noted that the grooves or openingsv extend at leastbeyond the middle of the block, whereby they overlap, and thereforethere is no solid portion entirely through the block--that is to say, a

horizontal plane passed through the block at any point will intersectone or more air-spaces. While only ,two grooves or openings have beenshown in Figs. 1, 3, and 5, it will of course be lunderstood that agreater number of openings may beemployed`-as, for 1nstance, threegrooves, as shown 1n F1g..8,

wherein the grooves or openings 2 and 3 which intersect the top andbottom, respectively, of the block are comparatively shallow and acentral longitudinal opening 4 has been formed through the middle of theblock, terminating short of the top and bottom thereof, but having itstopand bottom portions overlapping'the inner portions of the grooves 2and 3, whereby there is no continuous solid portion through the blockfrom front to rear.

In building a wall with the present form of blocks they are placed oneupon ,the other in the common or ordinary manner; but, as indicated inFigs. 9 and l0, it is .preferred to arrange the blocks so that theu'ppergroove of the lower block registers with the open end of the lowergroove or opening of the upper block, so as to produce a comparativelylarge dead-air space extending the entire/length of the wall and of aheight equal to the combined depths of the two grooves or openings. Bythis arrangement inner and outer vertical series of horizontal dead-airspaces are produced, with the air-spaces of each series disposedopposite the respective intervals between tlie adjacent air-spaces ofthe other series and overlapping said adjacent air-spaces. In a wall ofthis character there are no solid portions continuous from the outer tothe inner sides of the wall, and therefore frost and the like cannotpass through the wall, as

the dead-air spaces etl'ectually exclude the same. To be effectual forexcluding frost and the like, the spaces must be dead-that is to say,entirely closed to the external air-so as` to prevent circulationtherethrough, and therefore it will be understood that each airspace isclosed at its opposite ends. For conveniently closing each air-space Ihave provided a corner or end block, as indicated in Fig. 3, wherein theopenings or spaces intersect-one end only'of the block and terminateshort of the opposite end thereof, whereby the grooves or Vspaces areopen at one end and closed at the other.

By reason of the effective exclusion of frost and the like plastering 5may be applied di-v rectly to the inner side of a wall constructed ofthe present form of building-blocks, thereby obviatiiig the usualstudding and laths.

While the present invention has been primarily intended for artiiicialblocks by molding the grooves or openings therein, it will of course beunderstood that the grooves or openings may bereut in the block after ithas been molded, and natural buildingblocks may be provided with thepresent arrangement of grooves or openings by cutting the same therein,and therefore I do not Wish to be understood as limiting the applicationof the invention to artificial blocks alone.

gitudinal grooves or openings which extend beyond the middle of theblock and thereby overlap one another, one of the grooves or openingsintersecting the top ot' the block and terminating short of the bottom,and the other intersecting the bottom and terminating short of the topof the block.

4. A building-bloek having a pair of longitudinal grooves or openingswhich extend beyond the middle of the block and thereby -overlap oneanother, one of the grooves or openings intersecting the topv of theblock and terminating short of the bottom, the other intersecting thebottoni and terminating short of the top of the block, and both groovesor openings intersecting the saine end of the block.

5. A building-block having a pair ot' longitudinal grooves or openingswhich extend l beyond the middle of the block and thereby overlap oneanother, one of the grooves or openings intersecting the top oi theblock and terminating short ot' 'the bottom, the other intersecting thebottoni and terminating short of the top of the block, and both groovesor openings intersecting cach end oi the block.

FRANK W. BLAKESLICE. In presence of CLARA A. (JrArE, GLADYS E. CoRNwnLL.

